September 26, 2010

It's the most exciting time of the year for any baseball fan. Division champions are being crowned, the playoffs are almost upon us and of course we then have the World Series!

Who will get to the show? The Yankees? The Rays? How about the Giants or Padres? The World Series predictions are for a later date, this time around I'm going to predict my picks for the MLB awards.

Thankfully our dark overlord and blog founder, The Ranter has chosen a selection of players that we must pick.

We'll start with the better league first, the National League. Why is this league better than the AL I hear you all ask? Easy, that's were the Giants are and there is no stupid designated hitter rule.

Here are our choices

National League MVP

Carlos Gonzalez - Rockies

Albert Pujols - Cardinals

Joey Votto - Reds

National League Cy Young

Roy Halladay - Phillies

Ubaldo Jimenez - Rockies

Adam Wainwright - Cardinals

National League ROY

Starlin Castro - Cubs

Jamie Garcia - Cardinals

Jason Heyward - Braves

Buster Posey - Giants

Gaby Sanchez - Marlins

So who will get the NL MVP?

My pick is Albert Pujols. My reasons being is that yet again he has had an outstanding season! He's hitting a tasty .316 with 41 home runs and lets not forget his 113 RBI's. Is he better than the other two candidates? Well DUH! Its Pujols you moron, of course he's better then the other two! He does not have a better AVG then Votto or Gonzalez, who currently sits on .325 and .342 respectively but he has played more games then them. Sure only about ten games more but that still has an impact on his overall stats.

How about the Cy Young?

If you asked me this at the beginning of the season I would have slapped you for being so stupid. It was Lincecum! But Timmy has suffered this year thanks to a poor Giants offence and a miserable slump that took him a while to get out of.

If I had to choose from the above three, and I have to because thems the rules, I would pick the former Cy Young winner Roy Halladay!

What a season this guy is having! 20-10 with a 2.53 ERA and lets not forget his 213 Strike outs. In his past ten starts he has won eight times, EIGHT times! The only real competition this guy has is from Wainwright who has gone 20-11 with a lower ERA of 2.42. Interestingly both pitchers have the same amount of strike outs but Halladay has just performed better in my opinion.

NL ROY or should this be the 'Strasburg is hurt, quick lets find someone else' Award?

This was by far the easiest pick for me. Yes I'm a Giants fan but even if this kid was playing for the Dodgers I'd still choose him. Obviously I'm talking about Buster Posey. I don't think I need to spout stats at you because we are all aware of his exploits and I dont think the Giants would still be in the NL West race if it wasn't for this guy. Does anyone else see a lot of Will Clark in Posey? I sure do. I'll even state now that Posey will be MVP in 2011. That's right you heard it hear first.

OK, that the NL sorted, lets take a bash at the AL.

Here are the choices:

American League MVP

Miguel Cabrera - Tigers

Robinson Cano - Yankees

Carl Crawford - Rays

Josh Hamilton - Rangers

Justin Morneau - Twins

American League Cy Young

Feliz Hernadez - Mariners

Cliff Lee - Rangers

David Price - Rays

CC Sabathia - Yankees

American League ROY

Brennan Boesch - Tigers

Neftali Feliz - Rangers

Austin Jackson - Tigers

Carlos Santana - Indians

First the AL MVP

This is a lot tougher that the NL. If Hamilton didn't get injured I would say he had it in the bag, but he did get injured so tough luck, he's out. It would not be fair to consider him due to the fact he played a shorter season.

This is a two horse race. Cabrera and Cano.

Cabrera is having a monster year! Hes in the top three for AVG, HR and RBI's. There's only one thing that might hinder his chances, and it's something that should really have no impact on the voting but it will and that is because he plays for a crap team. Poor Miggy, stuck in a Tigers uniform when I'm sure he would rather be playing for the Rays or the Yankees.

Robinson Cano, the dark horse. Cano will probably end the season with over 200 hits and a respectable AVG. Some of his numbers aren't as good as some of the other candidates but when you throw in his fielding skills he just edges in front.

So who would I pick? My heart says Cabrera but my head says Cano.

Wait a second! Cano is a Yankee!

Miggy has my vote!

AL Cy Young?

Its David Price. OK so Sabathia has more wins and Hernadez has a better ERA and more strikeouts. But Hernandez has not had the support from the sucky Mariners this year, if he was on the Mariners team of the mid to late 90's then yes he would be the Cy Young.

Sabathia is leading the AL with wins and fair play he's a great player and a former Cy Young winner but just like my reason for not picking Cano, hes a Yankee and I don't want them to win anything! Be it the division, League, WS or any individual awards.

Price will be named the Cy Young and when they get to the post season (and they will) he is going to shine. It's a real shame that he's going to lose to the Giants in the World Series, I almost feel bad for him.

AL ROY?

The rookie crop for both leagues this year has been incredible. Will all the rookies named in these lists be as good next year? Only time will tell.

In my opinion there is one clear pick for the AL ROY and that is the Tigers Austin Jackson.

176 hits, .299 average and 26 stolen bases. I like players who can hit and are fast. Austin ticks both boxes.

Much like Miggy its a shame that this kid is a Tiger, but its different for a rookie as opposed to a veteran. People take note of newcomers regardless of what team they play for and veterans tend to be over looked.

So what do you think of my picks?

Biased? Poorly researched? I don't pretend to be anything else.

Will you side with me or one of my fellow authors? Or will you go the way of the legendary Hackensack Bulls Pitcher and vote for...

September 20, 2010

Okay so, the American League is pretty much sorted out, The National League has teams fighting for divisional wins, wild cards and three players aiming for a triple crown, where a player tops Home Run’s, Runs Batted In & Batting Average.

So to the American League first of all.

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Miguel Cabrera

AL MVP

I think there would have been four standouts however due to injury Kevin Youkilis of the Boston Red Sox, have left it to three players.

New York’s second baseman Robinson Cano has had a great season, 101 RBI’s, batting .328 & round tripping 28 times, and in the fantasy world if you have both power & percentage, you will be adored.

However I feel these next two are the best in the AL this year.

Miguel Cabrera of the Motown team, has played first base being involved in 129 Double plays, in the main 8 scoring categories Cabrera is in the top 4, (that’s in every one) 34 Dingers batting .329, what a season so far.

Josh Hamilton the power of Arlington, 2008’s AL silver slugger, currently injured, the Ranger has gone deep 31 times and get this has a batting average of .361, which has taken his career average to .312.

King Felix

AL CY Young

Last Years winner known to many as “the hard luck loser” hasn’t had as good a season like 2009, currently with a losing record, but by far the best player in Kansas City, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him win the 2011 Cy Young. David Price has had a great year with the Rays, not good enough this year, but check back in 2011.

So, to this year’s best American League pitchers,

“King” Felix Hernandez, has a WHIP of 1.07, 222K’s & only 12 Wins, his ERA is 2.35 & has had a great year in Seattle, but is it AL Cy Young trophy winning?

The first player to Win 20 games this season is?

CC Sabathia former Indians & Brewers Pitcher has had a great year for the Bronx ball team, 183 strikeouts, 3.05 ERA, a WHIP of 1.18.

It’ll be interesting to see if CC or King Felix wins, Felix has the personal stats, Sabathia the team, it depends how valuable Wins are seen.

AL Rookie of the Year

Will be won by a Tiger, but which one, an outfielder, okay that doesn’t narrow it down, Mr Austin Jackson 23 year old from Texas, has an average of .300 and hasn’t gone yard that many times but he’s only committed 6 errors in 1,146 Innings, which for a rookie is great.

Then we have Mr Brennan Boesch, The 25 year old Californian, has already round tripped 14 times, for 63 RBI’s, as a fantasy player I noticed he comes through with men on base, which for a rookie is superb. His batting average is .265 but for a rookie with his 14 Home Runs, that average is only 5pts below Johnny Damons and he’s hit 6 more Dingers.

So onto the National League,﻿

NL MVP

It’s hard to look past the race for the NL Triple Crown the last time it was won was in 1937 by Joe Medwick of the Cardinals, And in the AL in 1967 by Carl Yastrzemski.

So first of all,

St Louis’ #5 First Baseman Albert “Hey in your fantasy draft I’m #1 pick” Pujols, Who’s average has fallen, to a human looking .307, which looks as though it’ll stop him from winning the Triple crown, but he leads the NL in Long balls & Runs Batted In, where he has 39 Dingers with 107 Cardinals batted in.

Carl "Yaz" Yastrzemski

Which leaves Mr Joey Votto who has been in a team race with Pujols, the Reds against Redbirds we have a fan of both here on Jambalaya, so it’ll be interesting to see how they get on? Votto has gone yard 34 times for an average of .321 with 104 RBI’s.

Carlos "Car Go" Gonzalez

However the man who would be king, no not Prince Fielder, it’s the Rockies Left Fielder Carlos Gonzalez or “Car Go” as he’s called on a certain fantasy forum, has a batting average of .341, with 106 RBI’s he currently has 32 Home Runs, so will have to swing for the fences in this last fortnight which I’m sure he’ll be allowed to do by the Rockies, however, what if the Humidor wasn’t at Coors field?

Roy "Doc" Halladay

NL CY Young

2008, and 2009 Cy Young award winner appears to have come shy of a treble, he does lead the league in strikeouts, and has 14 Victories so far, however it’s when we look at his ERA that makes us realize he won’t win the 2010 NL Cy Young, it’s a massive 1.12 on top of last years ERA.

So who’s in line to win the award?

Ubaldo Jimenez, of the Coors field team, has more attractive looking numbers 19 wins, famously he had 15 wins at the All Star break, he’s close to amassing 200 K’s, and his ERA stands at 2.84.

Roy “Perfect Game” Halladay, that’s right I’ve give him another nick name, also has 19 victories but with better numbers a Whip of 1.07, ERA of 2.49 & 210 strikeouts.

NL Rookie of the Year,

Let’s discount the second coming who’s off having Tommy John, and look at the 3 who more than any appear to me to belong up here, here & now.

Starlin Castro, I must admit I haven’t seen a lot of Cubs action, and I’ve caught 2 radio broadcast’s whichwere over shadowed by Mr Ron Santo, man that guy breaths Cubs baseball. You can hear it with every sigh. Castro is batting .307, with 29 doubles & 9 Swiped bags. Whats more he’s only 20, let’s hope he can get the Wrigley team motivated in 2011.

Much was said of Bobby Cox & Chipper Jones having their last year at Turner field and baseball, and that this kid from New Jersey who was the future of Braves baseball, and didn’t disappoint in his first major At Bat. Yes you’ve guessed it its Jason Heyward, 18 Homers, 9 stolen bags, batting .287, the 21 year old has the “tools of the trade”

Chipper the Clipper

Okay here’s Gerald Dempsey Posey,

Known as Buster Posey which makes him sound like a porn star, (or is that just me?)

September 19, 2010

Damn... the Padres lost again... and are out of first place by 1/2 game. At least the A's won... but the playoffs are out of the question for them.

Anyways... I guess today is a day of halves. Padres are a 1/2 game back. Half of my baseball teams won... half lost. In football it's the same story... half of my teams were victorious, the other embarassed. The Packers destroyed the Bills, but the Seahawks were demolished by the Broncos.

But whatever... you're not here to listen to me whine and complain. You're here to see my predictions for the MLB MVP, Cy Young, and ROY awards.

So without further adieu...

AL MVP - Miguel Cabrera: leads the MLB in RBI's with 118, hitting .329 (3rd highest batting average in AL), and has the 3rd most home runs in the AL (with 34).

NL MVP - Albert Pujols: leads the NL in RBI's (107) and HR's (39), is batting .307, has the 2nd highest OBP in the NL, and the 3rd highest slugging percentage. I'll be honest, Votto's stats are just as good... but if I had to have one 1b on my team, it'd be Pujols.

I know it's more than about who's the best hitter... it's about who's most valuable to their team. However, in my mind if you're the best hitter in the league, you're valuable to your team.

AL Cy Young - Felix Hernandez: leads the MLB in strikeouts with 222 k's and leads the AL with a 2.35 ERA. He may not be anywhere near the top in wins, but that's not completely his fault. The Mariners have scored the least amount of runs in baseball this season. Forty-seven less than the Pirates who many consider the worst team in baseball. In short... it's not Felix's fault that he doesn't have 20 wins like Sabathia (the Yankees have scored 320 more runs than the Mariners this season).

NL Cy Young - Roy Halladay: 1st in the NL with 19 wins, 2nd in the NL with 210 k's, and is 3rd in the NL with an ERA of 2.49. Nobody else in the NL is in the top 3 of all of these major pitching categories.

AL ROY - Daniel Hudson: I'm not sure if this guy qualifies... but there's slim pickings when it comes to AL rookies. I wanted to pick Austin Jackson, but the guy struck out 159 times... to go with his 169 hits. Anyways... Hudson has gone 7-2 this season for the Diamondbacks and has an astounding 2.49 ERA with 79 strikeouts. He's allowed only 6 earned runs in his last 6 starts, while striking out 38 batters.

September 18, 2010

Last week was very successful, as we see it. Seven out of the eight authors of our humble blog replied to our prompt. That means we're batting 0.875. And this weeks roundtable has quite a lot to with with batting average. This week, we're exploring awards in Major League Baseball.

Now, authors, we aren't asking you to walk blindly into the night. We have some candidates for you to choose from.

AL MVP (awarded to the best player in the American League)

Miguel Cabrera

Robinson CanoCarl CrawfordJosh HamiltonJustin Morneau

AL Cy Young (awarded to the best pitcher in the American League)

Felix HernandezCliff LeeDavid PriceC.C. Sabathia

AL Rookie of the Year (awarded to the best first year player in the American League)

After going through all 7 posts regarding Super Bowl predictions, it would appear as though there are two clear teams who’ll make it there this year: the New Orleans Saints & the Indianapolis Colts. Don’t get too excited, because they’re the bookmaker’s favourites. However, there are a hand full of other teams chosen by Sports Jambalaya bloggers which are fancied to get there as well.

Image from dailymail.co.uk

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see either NY teams (The Giants & Jets… Sorry Bills fans) make it this year; The Green Bay Packers have a real shot at the Lombardi trophy too. The New England Patriots are always a danger, because of their duo of Tom Brady & Randy Moss who are capable of match winning plays. So don’t underestimate the Pats.

The Ravens of Baltimore will probably have a good season, and could end up in the Super Bowl which would be no fluke. Then you have the teams from California: San Diego & San Francisco. The 49’ers seem to be the dark horses and it’ll be interesting to see how they fare this season. The Chargers are popular, but they seem to be consistently picked to come up one game short of the Super Bowl.

Last, but not least you have the Atlanta Falcons and the Dallas Cowboys. The Falcons could come out of the shadows and take center stage. While the Cowboys are one of the most talented teams and should not be underestimated.

So, who is going to win Super Bowl XLV?

Image from SportsIllustrated.cnn.com

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According to majority of the bloggers of Sports Jambalaya, it’s the Indianapolis Colts!

September 13, 2010

I really wish that I had posted the first prediction especially after reading through my fellow commentators posts. Those guys set the bar pretty high.

Unlike the previous few entries which have been educated guesses, taking into account a few different things such as past performances and who plays for which team. I'm going to go in with loyalty. Also I will be using some advice I was given from the only two football fans I work with. I suppose I could spend a few hours researching all the teams and players but if I'm totally honest with you all I haven't followed American Football properly for about ten years.

My knowledge of the sport will greatly improve over the season as I plan to properly reacquaint myself with it and so all future posts will be better...I hope.

Anyway onto my prediction and like I said this is going on loyalty. The San Francisco 49ers will be going to the Super Bowl. Why? I support them. Simple.

Yes, I'm aware that they lost to the Seahawks yesterday but that is only one game in the season and there are plenty more games for them to win.

Now onto their opponent. I was given advice on two teams that I have been assured 'will' win.

The first bit of advice was from a workmate who I think was using the same method of predicting and just picking the team he follows and that's the San Diego Chargers.

The second piece of advice was based on something more substantial than team loyalty and that's what the odds are at the bookmakers.

As Martyn previously said in the post before this one, the Colts are the favourites to win with odds of 8/1. My workmate gave me the same information and has placed a small bet on them winning. So if hes happy to risk his money on the odds given by the bookmakers before the season has began then I'll gladly take that as an indication that they may make it to the show.

Okay, I’m not going to tell you the score of the super bowl, who’ll get injured, who’ll be suspended for controlled substances, I’ll just run through each division & give the names of the winners of said division.
However I did just place a small bet £5 on the Colts to win the super bowl, they’re favourites at 8/1 but hey they have Peyton right?

September 12, 2010

My football team is the St. Louis Rams. Even with the addition of a #1 draft pick QB, it wouldn't be realistic to choose the Rams to win the Super Bowl this year (but stranger things have happened). So who do I think will win the Super Bowl?

I've heard a few people talk about the Cowboys as favorites to win it all this year. They do have some talent at wide out. I think Miles Austin could be the #1 wide receiver in the NFL, and Dez Bryant is definitely looking like a candidate for top rookie. Add in the fact that the championship game is in Dallas, and you've got a case for choosing the Cowboys.

But that's not who I'm picking.

I predict the Colts will take the Lombardi trophy home from Dallas. They had a run at an undefeated season last year. However, at the time I'm writing this, the Colts have already lost their week 1 game against the Texans. But I have a gut feeling that come next February, Manning will lead his team to a Super Bowl victory.

I'm predicting the Buffalo Bills will win Super Bowl XLV. Ok, maybe that's just a bit of wishful thinking on my part, but at this point (Sunday, 9:36 PM ET), the Bills are tied for first place in the AFC East. So a die hard fan can hope.

For the teams that don't need to rely so much on hope rather than talent, it should be a fun NFL season. I lived in Minnesota for three years and went to graduate school at Minnesota State University, Mankato (the training camp location of the Minnesota Vikings), so I became a fan of the Big Bad Purple Machine. Also, former Bills corner back Antoine Winfield is one of my favorite players on the Vikes and in the NFL. So I have a lot of reasons to root for the Vikings. They're certainly loaded at almost every position, but still do have question marks. They have injuries at wide receiver, a departure of a reliable 3rd down back in Chester Taylor and Farve looked more like the NY Jets Farve this past Thursday instead of last years Pro Bowl Farve. I hope the Vikings can get it done this year, but I like a few other teams to do just a bit better.

As for my predictions, I like the Green Bay Packers to play the New Orleans Saints at the Super Dome for the NFC Championship. There are a lot of teams in the NFC that I like this year including Dallas, Minnesota and San Francisco, but I think this is a league of quarterbacks. Simply put, the Saints and Packers have the most stability at quarterback in the NFC.

The AFC is going to be tougher to predict. There are a number of teams at the top with the talent to get it done, but only two or three with a proven track record. Although the Jets did make it to the AFC Championship game last year, they did limp into the playoffs. In fact, they would not have made the playoffs if a number of other teams didn't layup in weeks 16 & 17. I love the fire and the talent the Jets have brought in, but I do not see them as AFC Championship contenders this year. The Bengals are another team with talent. I like Carson Palmer and they have a solid running game, but it always seems like something just doesn't go right for them (injuries, jail time, suspensions). Bengals fans have gone through a lot over the years, so it'd be nice to seem them make a Super Bowl run, but I like these three teams just a bit better.

As long as Payton Manning is under center in Indianapolis, the Colts are a Super Bowl favorite. The San Diego Lightning Bolts are primed once again for a solid season as well, but I like the new Baltimore Ravens to take on the old Baltimore Colts at Indy in the AFC Championship. It's hard for me to pick against Manning, especially at home, but I think the Ravens are loaded with weapons on the outside. They also have a dynamic running game with Rice and McGahee. I have the Ravens running over the Colts in an upset at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The New Dallas Stadium will be rockin' for Super Bowl XLV. I think the game in an engineering marvel like that will be a spectacle in itself. You could watch TV on TV with the size of that jumbo tron. With weapons all over the field, I think a Packers Vs. Ravens Super Bowl will be exciting to watch. Again, I like the Ravens weapons on the outside and running attack to prevail. My pick to win Super Bowl XLV is the Baltimore Ravens.

September 11, 2010

Football is very strange, indeed. It's a strange game, and the NFL is a strange league. This year will be even stranger than usual. The Jets are one of the best teams in the league... but if you go position by position... they don't any of the best skill position players in their division. Probably not even the second best. Does defense matter THAT much?

There will be many power shifts this season. The NFC East will be weaker than last year. The AFC East will be incredible. The NFC West is so shabby. The NFC North will be tough, as far as 2nd place goes.

The two best teams will not make it to the Super Bowl this year, as they were last year. The Colts will be there, but they won't be the best team in the AFC. Baltimore will. They are on the rise. If the NFL plays games next season, they will win the Super Bowl. But that's next year. This year's playoffs will be a replica of last year. Saints over Colts. But the Saints won't even win their division. The torch has been passed to Matt Ryan and the Falcons, to whom the best record in football will belong this season. This will be the last year of (relative) domination by the Saints, the Colts, and the Patriots.

This season is going to be so exciting. Especially since we're facing a lockout next season. Bring your cold beers... it's going to be a thrill ride.

1. Indianapolis Colts (13-3): Manning will have them off to a 9-1 start... with some challenging games down the stretch.2. NY Jets (12-4): Defense wins championships... and they're defense is second to none.3. Baltimore Ravens (11-4-1): Flacco's toughest challenge will be in week 1 against my #2 pick.4. San Diego Chargers (11-5): The AFC West stinks... and the Chargers easily get 5 out of 6 wins. They'll go 6-4 against the rest of the league.5. New England Patriots (11-5): I hate these guys almost as much as the Cowboys... but... Brady & Belichick... 'nuff said. These guys are always SB contenders.6. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-6-1): The last wildcard spot. My heart says the Texans, but I can't go against Polamalu, Farrior, Harrison, & Woodley.

Straight up... the AFC's top teams are tough. It's going to be a serious battle to reach the Bowl.

Next up... The NFC:

1. New Orleans Saints (14-2): Saints have a fairly easy schedule and will end up with the best record in the NFL.2. Green Bay Packers (13-3): The Packers also benefit from a fairly soft schedule. They'll split with Minnesota this year.3. Dallas Cowboys (12-4): Weeks 9, 10, 12, & 13 should be interesting. If they go 3-1 against the Giants, Packers, Saints, & Colts... then I'll put them at the #1 spot. For now, I say they go 1-3... beating only the Packers.4. San Francisco 49ers (9-6): The NFC West stinks too. The 49ers go 4-2 against their division rivals, but go 5-4 against everyone else.5. Minnesota Vikings (11-5): Loss of Sidney Rice makes the NFC North a little more interesting. They'll start off slow, but finish strong.6. Atlanta Falcons (10-6): They're tougher than their record shows & will make it out of the Wildcard round.

Well, let me take a swing at this week's topic. I'm still completely elated at having watched Everton take it to Manchester United in a contest of....real football.

But this topic refers to American Football, specifically the NFL. It's a curious league. In fact, the more I watch it the less I understand it. But then again, I was always a lineman. In the fourth or fifth grade I was officially the 'fat kid' and played center for every team I ever played on. How fun for me.

But on that level, the game is easy to understand. It was frighteningly simplistic.

1) Squat and let some other guy put his hands under your nuts.
2) Remember the count and snap the ball.
3) Sacrifice your body so that other fat kids on other team stay on their side of the field.
4) Repeat as necessary until you either punt or score (because high school teams never make field goals).

See? Simple. Strange, yes. But simple.

I watch football now, and it's not so simple. Rules change to protect the pretty players with the highest salaries. Coaches challenge calls that take ten minutes to figure out. And commercials are more prevalent than actual gameplay. It confuses me that there isn't actually more 'sport' being played.

So how do I decipher this confusion to determine who will win the Super Bowl? I honestly have no idea. In a season that will be riddled with injuries, it's hard to predict who will be healthy enough to pull it off in the end. Really, you'd think that with all the commercial breaks these guys get they'd stay pretty fresh during the season. But what do I know? I was a lineman. They made us eat and lift weights. We weren't the thinkers of the group.

So I'll wing it here. I see the Super Bowl being the Jets taking on the Saints. And I think the Saints go back to back. But please don't hold me to this. I will only ever mention this pick if it actually comes true. Other than that, this pick never happened.

For those who don't know what jambalaya is... it's a Louisiana Creole dish of Spanish and French influence. It's a bunch of ingredients thrown together to create a delicious meal. In short... this blog is a living metaphor of jambalaya. Instead of chicken, rice, tomatoes, shrimp, spices, onions, celery, and bell peppers... you're going to get a mixture of posts from bloggers all over the world who are sports enthusiasts.

Sports Jambalaya has only been around for a few weeks... and so far articles have ranged from basketball to baseball to cricket... and back to baseball.

Well today is the beginning of a new adventure for Sports Jambalaya. In addition to articles from a growing list of bloggers... we'll also begin having a roundtable of sorts where a bunch of us come together and write about a featured topic. It's a chance for our readers to see the point of views from a variety of bloggers... as we argue and debate our opinions.

The topic will change each week and we encourage you to participate as well. Share your opinions. Tell us who you agree with and who you don't. Offer up topic suggestions. Essentially... it's an open table and you're invited.

This week's topic: NFL Predictions

We'll be writing about our playoff predictions and giving you our Super Bowl picks. Your job as Sports Jambalaya readers is to tell us who's right and who's wrong... then share with the rest of the blogworld your picks.

So... who's getting him? I'm rooting for the Nets. I really like that team, and the ownership. Russian Mafia member... PLUS Jay-Z? I'm there. But I think that the Houston Rockets will land him. They've got the pieces, and they aren't afraid to trade them. I really don't think that Noah for Anthony will go through, unless Houston looses interest. I think that Luis Scola and a draft pick is better than Noah and whatever 2nd rate player Chicago would through in.

You know what? You're a 24 year old kid. You are in no position to be complaining about anything. I don't care if LaRussa isn't playing you enough. That's not up to you to decide. When you've finished out your playing career and learned enough about the game and the business and you earn a job as a manager, then you can make those types of decisions. But until then, if your manager wants to bench you, you sit there with your mouth shut and think about how you can improve your game so he has no choice but to play you, because you're the best at what you do.

Do you honestly think getting traded to another team is going to fix everything for you? NEWSFLASH: If you suck on another team you'll get benched there too. Quit being a self-absorbed megalomaniac. You're not playing in the Little League World Series anymore. You're no longer the big fish in the little pond. You're the little fish in the big ocean now.

What are you doing talking to the press about a trade? Is that reporter going to get you more playing time? Is that reporter going to negotiate a trade for you? Why don't you focus your efforts in a different direction, like improving you game?

It boils down to this...I have two things to say to you, Colby Rasmus.

September 3, 2010

I honestly don't know much about cricket. I know that it's a high scoring game whose style of play is similar to baseball. There are sticks and howitzers. That's all I know. I could name you 5 good teams... I think (England, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa). It's a fascinating sport that I'd like to know more about.

September 2, 2010

So crickets all over the British & Sub continent tabloids about latest match fixing allegations, Due to a few Pakistani players allegedly taking bribes in a recent match against England in England, the story was broken by English tabloid “News of the World”, the morning before they were due to resume play which they did.

Surely sports governing bodies & club officials have learnt from history, look at 1919 that was a perfect example of match fixing, although I’d back the White Sox for what they did because they weren’t overpaid, and at a time when Pakistan is ravaged by disaster, when people have nothing but hope, heroes are needed.
These cricketers should be ashamed, as well as their agents, middlemen who arrange these deals with bookmakers, these people will have families in devastated parts of the country where they grew up. On the streets of Islamabad and Lahore children & adults play cricket into the dead of night.

“Bloodgate” is back in the British news, the name given to an incident in Rugby Union, where fake blood capsules were used to facilitate a tactical substitution.
And the English Premiership, only 3 weeks old has a week off for Internationals, England play Bulgaria in their first EURO 2012 qualifier, I thought with no soccer & these bad stories circulating. Let’s look at some “Role Models!”

Alan Shearer
I have his Autograph on a ball with most of the 1995 Blackburn Rovers team, my dad won it at a charity auction/raffle, Shearer joined Blackburn in 1992 from Southampton for £3.3Million a lot of money then. He was sold a few years later to his hometown team and childhood club Newcastle United for £15Million which shattered the Transfer record. He won the English Premiership in 1994-95 season.

I remember he was signing autographs near my seat before a game, I grabbed my match day programme and headed towards him at the hoardings, there was a crowd and I let everybody else go before me apart from adults that’s the thing, always kids first, Then the tanoy alarm went off, a sign telling players to head back to the dressing rooms for last minute team talks. I was next, he said I’ll be back in 5 minutes. I stayed there and he came to within 5 yards of where he was before, I thought how good it was that with only 5 minutes to go until you start a match you’re signing autographs. A lot of people had gathered next to me, I didn’t get my autograph that day, I got it the next game, with a smile and a message “To Martyn”, the sad thing is I can’t find it anywhere, But I do have his autograph on that ball.

He has never been subject to tabloid stories of affairs, drugs, motoring offences or other misdemeanours, which is sadly common place in today’s sports.

Blackburn Rovers Home Shirt 1994-95

I hear Joe Mauer has his mother reply to his fan mail, which given he’s an elite baseball star and cover athlete of a current videogame, that’ll be a lot of fan mail. He made it clear that he wanted to stay in Minnesota his hometown state & when I see a Twins game he always seems to have a smile on his face, which is nice to see.

I’ve also been witness to the late Bobby Robson England football manger in world cups 86 & 90, sign things for charity with a smile on his face & very polite.

I was just wondering if you have any stories of generous sports men & women and if you have any role models in sport.